Making Starbucks Drinks at Home

a) Starbucks drinks are tasty
b) Starbucks drinks are expensive
c) I want a Starbucks drink

Who doesn't love a good latte?  It could be from Starbucks, Peet's, wherever.  The problem is that they are very expensive and often have a lot of sugar and calories in them.  If you've never made your own lattes or chai at home, keep reading-this post is for you!

In my quest to save money, I have learned over the last year or so how to make a variety of drinks at home.  It is so easy and saves a ton of money.  AND my kids can help me...they love pushing the buttons on the espresso machine. 

For Latte's, you will need:

• an espresso machine OR
• A french press

Here is our recipe for Caramel Macchiatos:

1. Place a mug with 1 cup milk (or soy or other milk substitute) in the microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes, or until steaming.  
2. Make 1 cup of espresso (or really strong coffee) using you machine or french press.
3. If you have a milk frother, use it to whip the milk until frothy on top (or skip this if you don't like foam).  You can buy a milk frother at Ross for under $3.  
4. Pour the espresso over the top of the milk.  Add 2 Tbs. vanilla syrup (they sell these at most stores, and you can buy a sugar free variety). 
5. I like to use my frother to mix the ingredients up a little bit.  Top with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.  

A caramel macchiato is essentially a vanilla latte with a little less vanilla and with caramel sauce on top.  If you want just a plain vanilla latte, just omit the caramel and add a tiny bit more vanilla syrup.  You can also buy caramel sauce at most grocery stores, but you can make your own, too!  Check out this recipe HERE.  You can also adjust the amount of vanilla syrup based on your liking.

Our recipe for Caramel Mocha Lattes:

1. Place a mug with 1 cup milk (or soy or other milk substitute) in the microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes, or until steaming.  
2. Make 1 cup of espresso (or really strong coffee) using you machine or french press.  
3. Mix together the espresso, 1 TBS hot cocoa powder, 1/2-1 TBS sugar (or sugar substitute), and 2 TBS caramel syrup (also can be found at most grocery stores).
4. Whip your milk if you want foam.  Pour milk over the espresso mixture.  Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce.  

Some people like these "salted".  I do not.  If you do, sprinkle some sea salt on top of your whipped cream!

Our Recipe for Hazelnut Lattes:

1. Place a mug with 1 cup milk (or soy or other milk substitute) in the microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes, or until steaming.  
2. Make 1 cup of espresso (or really strong coffee) using you machine or french press.  
3. Mix together your espresso and 2-3 TBS Hazelnut syrup (they also make a Sugar Free variety).  
4. Froth milk.  Pour milk over the espresso.  Top with whipped cream.

Our Recipes for Chai Tea Lattes:

I posted a while ago about my recipe for Chai Tea Mix.  My friend, Claire, also has a recipe on her blog for loose-leaf chai tea.  Another very easy way to make a chai tea latte that is more similar to Starbucks, is to buy the Tazo brand Chai Tea (same brand Starbucks uses).  Costco *usually* sells them for 3 containers for around $7.50.  This is the best price, FYI.  Mix half and half with hot, steamed, and frothed milk.  Keep in mind: Starbucks is not exactly a half and half mixture.  They also add water to their chai lattes (I always request a "no water chai" when ordering from there).  You may want to experiment with your ratios. 

Pumpkin Spice Lattes:

We use THIS recipe when making pumpkin spice lattes.  We will usually make our own pumpkin puree for it, but you can also used canned.

Peppermint Mochas:

This is from the same website as our pumpkin spice recipe.  I have yet to try it, but I just stumbled upon it and now I think I must try it!  Find her recipe HERE.

If you can't find these syrups at your local store, Amazon sells the Torani syrups in packs.  They have a SUGAR FREE 6 pack for just $30.55 if you do "subscribe & save" (you can cancel any time).  They also have the regular 6 pack for the same price. Both include Hazelnut, Caramel, and Vanilla (as well as 3 others-each set has different ones, fyi)...That's just $5 each!  By comparison, you would spend that much at Starbucks on 7 drinks!  These syrups last a LONG time.  Ours last months and months! 

Enjoy your "at home", much cheaper, much tastier drinks!